Ultra-small bacteria and archaea exhibit genetic flexibility towards groundwater oxygen content, and adaptations for attached or planktonic lifestyles.

ABSTRACT: Aquifers are populated by highly diverse microbial communities, including unusually small bacteria and archaea. The recently described Patescibacteria (or Candidate Phyla Radiation) and DPANN radiation are characterized by ultra-small cell and genomes sizes, resulting in limited metabolic capacities and probable dependency on other organisms to survive. We applied a multi-omics approach to characterize the ultra-small microbial communities over a wide range of aquifer groundwater chemistries. Results expand the known global range of these unusual organisms, demonstrate the wide geographical range of over 11,000 subsurface-adapted Patescibacteria, Dependentiae and DPANN archaea, and indicate that prokaryotes with ultra-small genomes and minimalistic metabolism are a characteristic feature o

SUBMITTER: Gios E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9938205 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature